Full Stack Tone You Can Carry With One Hand

Modeled after Marshall's highly acclaimed Dual Super Lead amp heads, the gig-ready DSL40C guitar combo amplifier delivers Marshall sound in a portable package. The Marshall DSL40C blasts 40 watts of tube-driven sound through one 12" speaker, and features all the road-ready controls you'd expect on a Marshall amp, including a Resonance control for bass boost, Presence control for added highs, passive 3-band EQ with a "Tone Shift" button for notching out the mids, and even a digital spring reverb.

Learn more with this video from Marshall:

Two Gig-Ready, Footswitchable Channels

For veterans and beginners alike, the DSL40C makes it easy to rock like a champion. Stomp the footswitch to toggle between clean to distorted channels to add some crunch. Stomp the Reverb button to add quacky spring-like sounds or deep moaning lows with professional-quality digital reverb and separate reverb controls for each channel. A shared EQ section offers treble, mid, bass, presence, and resonance controls, giving depth to your tone whether you're filling the room with screaming tubes or softly strum with warm, natural overdrive. And thanks to its all-tube design, this Marshall amplifier is sure to leave an impression.

Portable Marshall Power

With tube-driven preamp and powered amplifiers, the Marshall DSL40C will sound like an amp twice its size. Two channels with independent gain and volume knobs for each channel make it easy to change the mood at the press of a button. A gain boost button is also provided for each channel, in case you need to "take it up to eleven," and a switch on the back lets you switch to half power (20 watts) for when you're just practicing.

Any guitarist knows that nothing sounds quite like a Marshall tube amp, but you can't lug around a half stack each time you want to jam -- and that's why Marshall introduced the DSL amplifier line. Plug into Marshall quality in a portable guitar amp with the DSL40C combo.

Product Description

The Marshall DSL40C is a sturdy, gig-ready 40-watt workhorse boasting two EL34 power valves, a Celestion speaker, and the exact same front and rear panel features as the DSL100H -- including the Triode (Half Power) option which drops the DSL40C's output to 20 watts.

Combine the world-renowned EL34-driven power stage of the 1959 Super Lead Plexi (SLP) head with a dual channel valve preamp, giving you two footswitchable super leads in one. Then add a studio-quality digital spring reverb, plus extra preamp gain that can take you into JCM800 2203 territory and far beyond, and you get the DSL: Dual Super Lead. The DSL40C delivers famed Marshall tone in a 40-watt, 1x12" combo form, housing a custom-voiced Celestion speaker.

The DSL40C features two footswitchable channels (footswitch supplied) named 'Classic Gain' and 'Ultra Gain' -- each with two modes, selectable via a front-panel button. As their names imply, each channel has a very different character. Classic Gain takes you from a 1959 style clean to the snarl of a JCM800 2203, and everything in between via its Clean/Crunch mode button. 'Ultra Gain,' on the other hand, takes you from a hot-rodded 2203 vibe to an even higher gain response with additional mid-boost, via its Lead 1/Lead 2, mode switch.

Both channels share a passive three-band EQ with controls for Bass, Middle and Treble. The Equalization section also features a 'Tone Shift' button which, when activated (pushed in), shifts out the mid frequencies -- making the amp ideal for brutal, modern metal tones, especially when combined with high gain settings. Each channel also has its own individual reverb level control for the built-in studio quality digital spring reverb, This effect can be switched on/off via the supplied footswitch.

In the power section, you'll find controls for resonance and presence. Resonance adds a variable bass boost to your sound without muddying it up, while the presence adds high end. The ability to select either full output power or half-power via the Pentode/Triode switch on the rear panel, adds further to your DSL's already impressive feature set. The tonal and gain versatility makes the DSL40C a superb and flexible performance tool for today's most demanding playing situations.

About the Dual Super Lead Series

When the JCM2000 Dual Super Lead (DSL) series of amps was introduced in 1997, they were received with open arms and glowing compliments by the guitar loving public and press alike. In fact one of the biggest American guitar magazines described the DSL100 as possibly "the best Marshall ever. It combines the best tonal qualities and features of both modern and vintage Marshall amps in one package." After an extremely successful and long life, the JCM2000 series was replaced by the JVM series in 2007, which has also gone onto great success and critical acclaim. That said, there's still a great deal of respect and demand for Dual Super Leads, with one of the UK's most popular guitar magazines recently referring to the DSL100 as "the go-to rock amp."

Sound:
EL 34's, 12AX7's. You're standard British tone stack, sounds amamzing...even with the stock tubes
Feature:
The dual gain features are a strong point here. You can go from plexi type cleans with mild breakup, to crunchy JCM 800 to balls out gain for more modern tones.
Ease of Use:
Not hard to figure out. You're basic tone controls, the mid-scooping tone switch button, effects loop, etc
Quality:
Built like a tank. Never had issues with Marshall quality
Value:
Got this amp as a "scratch n dent", saved about $150 bucks and honestly I don't see a scratch or dent anywhere on it. So for that reason this beast is an even better value for me!
The Wow Factor:
White lettering that spells Marshall...that's the wow factor. It sounds amazing especially piped through a 4x12 cabinet.
Overall:
Probably the last combo amp I'll need to buy. Started with a JCM 800 back in the 80's, worked my through a myriad of other amps in the last 20 years and find myself back to the tone I love. Marshall gets it right with the DSL 40C.

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"Wow, Why didn't I get this sooner?"

Sound:
Awesome sounds. You can make any type of music on this with your guitar. From clean country to heavy metal crunch. I use a Fender Strat and Epi Les Paul.
Feature:
The 20 to 40amp switch is very nice when you want to practice at lower volumes and not have the wife come out and unplug you.
Ease of Use:
There was a little getting use to the controls... but with any amp I have had, there is a learning curve.
Quality:
This has got to be the highest quality amp that I have ever purchased. There wasn't a single flaw in the craftsmanship of the cabinet.
Value:
Great value for an amp of this caliber.
Manufacturer Support:
Haven't needed it.
The Wow Factor:
I am blown away by the quality, sound and ease of use.
Overall:
I was blown away with the sound that comes out of this amp. It is well made. I can see no faults at all with the cabinet. Then I plugged it in and was further impressed. The clean sound is perfect with the band I play with. The added foot pedal works perfect with switch the channels. I'm still exploring the different adjustments and just lovin' this amp. The switching between the 20 and 40 amp is nice and helps with practicing, and the 40amp is nice for playing small indoor venues.
The more I played, the better the amp sounded. It does need a little warming up for the tubes and once it does, bam! Perfect sound. There was no buzz or any other unwanted noises that I heard.
I highly recommend this amp...thanks zZounds.com and Marshall.

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